I'm back, after a brief fall off the wagon. I have an internship coming up before I graduate in the spring (yay! finally! ) and I'm struggling to come up with ideas of what I can take with me for lunch? In addition to losing weight & gradually cutting out processed foods, I'm also trying to save money by not eating out as much. Typically, I would take some kind of leftovers from dinner but the place I'm interning at doesn't have a microwave or break room and the majority of my co-workers go out to lunch. After spending a day there for orientation, I've realized that I can't afford to wait until I get home to eat, since I tend to get really bad migraine headaches when I go long periods of time without eating something substantial (plus I'm aware it's not good for my metabolism).

There are foil packets of tuna, salmon, etc. which weigh about 3 ounces and make a great lunch. Also little individual servings of applesauce (I get the kind without sugar or any type of sweetener). Brown rice in individual precooked servings is good too. Of course with no microwave you would have to eat it cold; I could do that without a problem but some people I suppose would not like that. A few nuts mixed with fruit is also good.

Grab whatever leftover meat/fish/veggies you had and put them in a wrap or have as a salad. I do that nearly every day as my co workers think I spend a lot of time making my lunches when I really don't!

Today for lunch I have turkey (50 cal) and reduced fat cheese (50 cals) on a LaTortilla wrap (90 calories) with honey mustard, spinach and relish. I also brought a banana, some baby carrots and celery.

The salad/sandwich idea everyone is suggesting is a great idea. I bring my lunch to work everyday. I can better control what I eat (and save money) that way. I have an insulated lunch bag with a few frozen packs in there to keep my things nice and cool and either bring in leftovers, or if I don't feel like a hot meal, a wrap, salad, or sandwich.

Wraps are great. I do them on multi-grain tortillas that are 50 calories each, with a schmear of Laughing Cow cheese to adhere the veggies, and usually sliced cucumber, pepper and broccoli and maybe spinach + 1-2 slices of thin-sliced provolone. (Sargento has thin-sliced provolone for 40 calories/slice). I don't eat meat. Through in cut raw veggies that taste FINE at room temperature, like cauliflower and broccoli, carrots and celery.

Another idea - one I do alot in the summer - is to make a big batch of some sort of bean/lentil/quinoa based salad on Sunday and eat it for lunch during the week. Basically, take some cooked lentils, cooked black beans, cooked garbanzos, cooked quinoa, cooked... whatever you like, combine with various sorts of chopped fresh vegetables (usually: cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, onions for me), and make a dressing with citrus (lemon or lime, depending on the seasoning you are using) vinaigrette. This can be changed up so many ways by using different seasonings - chili and lime; curry; ras el hanout; something mediterranean, with a chopped parsley, mint and lemon dressing and some kalamata olives.

A dish like that will last you all week. You can package it up in individual containers after spending an hour or so on Sunday tossing it together. Dried lentils/beans are REALLY inexpensive and nutrient dense, and while fresh veggies are more spendy in the winter, you can vary the additions based on what is in season and on sale and really experiment. Also: no mayo, no meat, no eggs, so much less worry about spoliation without refridgeration in the morning.

I have those with some fresh veggies and an apple, or maybe some pop chips for a treat, really often in the summer. (In the winter I do soups: but these would be unpleasant without a microwave.)

I usually bring a mini lunch (hard boiled egg and yogurt or a cup of fruit and yogurt or cheese stick are my two most frequent lunches) and then I'll have a piece of toast with turkey and cheese and an apple when I get home. I just still an ice pack in my insulated lunch box to keep it cool.

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I Choose:
To live by choice, not by chance;
to make changes, not excuses;
to be motivated, not manipulated;
to be useful, not used;
to excel, not compete.
I choose self-esteem, not self pity.
I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the random opinions of others.Highest Weight: 180, Goal Range: 125-130, Trying to break the yo-yo pattern once and for all!

A thermos can keep chili and soups hot, I use the ones from my kids lunch bag now that they've out grown the princess theme. I know that whatever I've got is 8 oz, so it makes calorie counting easy. I've also put quinoa, rice and stirfries etc. in them. If you have a kettle, you can also make a quick soup with boullion, rice vermicelli (or precooked other grains/noodles), and some veggies that cook quickly or are already cooked (snap peas, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli slaw mix). I also like chili salads, just canned chilli over lettuce and veggies and maybe a bit of cheese. keep the chili seperate and spoon it over top at the last minute tho.